There are a lot of conspiracies in play in Jackie Chan’s The Shadow’s Edge (捕风追影). This film received limited screenings during its debut last year, and like other movies from China recently, not everything is getting a proper North American release. It’s a shame, because out of the latest crop of films from this entertainer, this one has to be the most gangster of them all.
As Wong Tak-chong, a retired cyber-intelligence agent, Chan may be the only person able to locate Fu Lung-sang (Tony Leung Ka-fai), a godfather to a gang of thieves who commit a mix of heists and cybercrimes.
Joining Wong is the lovely rookie He Qiuguo (Zhang Zifeng), whose inexperience may well let this group get away. While Wong teaches her the ropes and poses as her father during an undercover operation, the pair figure out that a certain neighbour may well be this ruthless crime lord. I can see why Zhang is regarded as one of the New Four Dan actresses of the post-95s generation. She delivers doe-eyed naivety in droves, but when the moment comes to bring down Fu and earn her cred as an agent, even I cheered!
Although the crime lord is wise to the act, the uncertainty over whether he’s their man makes for an interesting clash between the trio. Zhang and Chan have to nail that father-daughter dynamic. If they can’t convince audiences, then they won’t convince the person they’re investigating!
One reason this movie is tops is that it doesn’t need fancy shenanigans to sell itself as a Chinese equivalent of The Untouchables. Its tension-building soundtrack, clever editing and fist fights deliver the goods. Jackie can still deliver comedic punches that make us laugh, but for once, those elements take a back seat.
Director Larry Yang and cinematographer Qian Tiantian create other great visual moments to move the tale along. We get a mix of close-ups to sell the tension, and wide drone shots to set up just how opulent life in Macau can be. Fans of Chan’s early films may miss those wide, continuous shots, but the cuts here feel seamless.
If it weren’t for the melodramatic moments between mentor and apprentice, I’d say this is quite a film! They slow the pacing a bit, and seem to be the only way the story shows why Lung-sang’s relationship with his boys matters. There’s just way too many flashbacks. Although they later turn on their father, it turns out this codger is tough to put down! After this gangster has dodged the law for about thirty years, I wanted to know how he’s managed it while staying so limber.
While I’d be hard-pressed to decide what to remove to make this film more accessible, the middle act would benefit most from a trim. We don’t need quite so much detail about how this crime lord has perfected the art of hiding from the public. He’s an old man, but he’s a sly one that’d make Al Capone clap his hands.
As it turns out, Xi Wang and Xi Meng aren’t the only “family” with a bond to the old man. Wang is the favourite of the two, while Meng is the group’s hacker, with a different hairdo to help viewers tell them apart. And, to spoil a little, Xi Tai may well be the guy who keeps it together when everyone is out for blood rather than function properly as a team.
When compared to Jackie’s more lighthearted cop films, this one exudes true grit from beginning to end. There’s little room for humour or cuteness to trickle through. It’s great to see Yang commit to a serious tone. With a good handful of works in different genres, he’s clearly not boxing himself in. I’d like to see what he can do with an original crime drama rather than adapting Yau Nai-hoi’s Hong Kong action thriller Eye in the Sky (2007) for a more modern audience.
One part of his screenplay that could use more development is the use of AI to predict criminal behaviour. Ironically enough, that idea quickly gets shut down when Fu comes into the picture and the board calls for experienced individuals to find him instead.
Had this layer been woven more carefully into the narrative, I’d say we’d have quite a film.
3½ out of 5
The Shadow’s Edge Movie Trailer
